Sunday, December 14, 2014

I got a bee in my bonnet last weekend and decided that I couldn't bear to wear my same old bustle dress to Candlelight two years in a row, so I made a new 1869 outfit for the occasion. Luckily, this style of dress goes together quite easily, and I was able to pull all the supplies that I needed from my stash. All I had to buy this week was a $1 sprig of greenery for my hat. Now that's my kind of Christmas miracle!

The gown is made with green plaid silk that I picked up at a Fabrique sale earlier in the year for $16. No, not $16 per yard - but $16 for the dress length. Best. Deal. Ever! I had no idea what I would make with it, and I usually try to avoid adding things to my stash without a plan, but this was just too good of a deal to pass up. My students pointed out that the fabric looks like a roll of Scotch Tape, and wow - yeah it does! Maybe I can convince Scotch to sponsor my dress if I sew a big product patch on my back like a race car driver. But even though I do look a bit tape-ish, I thought the green was quite festive, and I matched the event's Victorian Santa so well.

To make the dress, I used a combination of patterns from Patterns of Fashion and Theatrical Costumes for Stage and Screen. It's a pretty simple dress on its own, and the only embellishment is a set of antique glass buttons with flowers cut into them. At first, I thought about adding fringe or rows of trim on the dress, but then I fell in love with a 1869 fashion plate from La Mode Illustrée showing a similarly austere gown worn with a black tunic over it. I poked around and found several period patterns for this type of garment, including one in the book 60 Civil War-Era Fashion Patterns that is referred to as a "pannier mantilla". I loved the description, which states: "a more useful article of dress is not likely to appear this season, and will more than repay for the slight trouble of making it." How charming!

I also found a similar garment and pattern in an 1869 copy of de Gracieusse that is archived on theHet Geheugen van Nederland archive (search for "gracieuse" plus the year that you want to find the magazines). This mantilla, which you can see in the middle of the top and bottom row of the illustration above, is a little more fitted and has an open V-neckline, so I used the body from this pattern, and the pannier flounce from the other. I always love detangling the pattern sheets in these old magazines, and somewhere hidden in this jumble you can find the pieces for my mantilla.

To finish the outfit, I dyed another pair of vintage gloves with Rit to match the yellow in my dress. I also took a straw pillbox hat from the 1960's and tacked the sides of the top together to make it look more like an early bustle tilt hat. I added a vintage moire ribbon to the back and a bit of Christmas greenery to the top, and that's it. The ribbons liked to flap around in the wind and stand straight up or wrap around my face and look ridiculous most of the time. I probably should have gone with narrower ribbon like the hat shown in this 1869 fashion plate, but the color matched my dress so well that I couldn't resist. Oh well. Go big or go home, right? :)

On the way to the event, I stopped by my favorite Victorian chapel and took a few pictures. Here are some of my favorites, and as usual, there are more on flickr, plus a few others of our group at the Candlelight event.

Lovely pictures! The early bustle silhouette suits you so well! Your vintage hat hack is genius and I always admire your amazing fabric finds. I had a wonderful time wandering around the Village with our little group. I will try to wrangle some more people for next year! :)

I love your styling as much as I admire your sewing skills. It's how you put things together that is so very inspiring. Meanwhile I saw this Pinterest orphan photo from 1910's that is delightful with the peeking child but for some reason the ladies face made me think of you in your Edwardian gear

OHMYGOSH!!! Ok, I am so loving this dress!! And yes...best.deal.ever! Yay for 16.00 whole-dress-cost-silk! I am so jealous! But my favorite part of the whole outfit is the fact that you added that yellow to your hat and gloves! Color combos like that make me so happy!! You look GORGEOUS!Blessings!g

LOVE! I love it so much! Also, thank you for making late 1860s things. Without you, I would be so lost and confused about the skirt cut and shape. I'm still struggling to get it right, so it helps immensely to see you wearing it all as it should be.

Hello. I write from Spain, here are a few admirers. Spain recreation of the Victorian era is still beginning, but every day we are more.The first congratulate you on your work. I belong to a forum of recreation and have a permanent link to your blog !!!! I enjoyed half mourning attire you've done recently, especially merry widow hat ...The problem we have in Spain are the sources of information. Spain's National Library has digitized journals period, but not all patterns preserved leaves. They can be downloaded for free, here I leave the link if you're interestedhttp://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/details.vm?q=id:0004782809&lang=es

The fact is that in the 1880s no pattern remains. I've seen you link to a Dutch museum and you use the magazine "Gracieusse". Do you only download or use as a guide? I'm used to working with authentic standards of time and would like to download these from the Dutch museum, but I quite understand if I can download them.Sorry if abuse your good work, and I read that you're not in a good moment and I would not bother. Anyway thank you very much.

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About Me

Welcome to my project blog! I am an artist and seamstress who is obsessed with fashion history. I tend to focus on the Renaissance through the mid-20th century styles, but I sometimes dabble in fantasy costuming and modern sewing as well.